A huge well done to Lisa, Melanie, Diane, and Lisa’s partner, who proudly represented the museum in the Walk for Wellbeing on Sunday 17 October.
The event, organised by Hospitality Action, involved a 12-mile walk, which they all completed, raising over £200 for a great cause supporting the hospitality community.
Thank you to the whole team for your effort, enthusiasm, and commitment.
From Thursday 6 November, we will be trialling allowing visitors to bring their dogs to the Museum on Thursdays and Sundays only.
Here’s a round up of everything you need to know:
Following this trial, the Museum will evaluate how the trial went. Depending on the outcome, we will then consider doing another trial, making the change permanent, or moving back to a no-dogs policy.
Full terms and conditions have been prepared for all visitors to follow, along with a web page which cites our “Canine Code”. This emphasises the following points clearly:
Visitors will also be advised about the following best-practise when near the Museum’s animals:
If you are concerned about the behaviour of a dog on site, or witness any misconduct or damage caused by a dog, please inform the duty manager who will engage with the dog owner as appropriate.
We have a limited number of tickets available for colleagues who would like to attend Black Country History Conference at the Museum on Saturday 8 November.
This year’s one-day conference is titled “After Agenoria: Aspects of the Railway Revolution in the Black Country.”
To find out more about the event, visit our website.
You can view the full programme here.
If you’d like to attend, please get in touch with the Ticketing Team.
As a fellow living museum and West Midlands visitor attraction, we’d like to share the following news of interest with colleagues regarding the recent news about Ironbridge Gorge Museums.
On Thursday 16 October it was announced that The National Trust is to take over the running of museums in the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, with the help of a £9m government grant.
It will replace Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust, which has been operating the locations in Shropshire since 1967.
You can read more via the Ironbridge Gorge Museums website, as well as the press release via the BBC.
On Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 October, the Visitor Centre will be closed as we work to enhance the visitor experience.
We are making changes to the locations and layout of Admissions and the Museum Shop to support both functions, as well as to improve the visibility Café Black Country. Please note that the Visitor Centre will be closed to visitors and colleagues on both of these days.
Visitors will be admitted through a temporary process on these dates – via Brook Entrance from Car Park One, or via a temporary unit on entry from Car Park Two (black shed). Visitors will then enter and exit the Museum via the black vehicle gates, which will be open throughout the day on both these dates. There will be no change to education or venue hire operations.
If you have any questions about the move, please contact [email protected]
Continuing our commitment to enhancing colleague and visitor safety, we will be rolling out the use of body worn cameras over the next couple of weeks.
Body cameras are being deployed to help reassure colleagues and visitors and help reduce and de-escalate any confrontational incidents. The cameras will also provide an accurate record of incidents, allowing for a fair and proportionate response, and provide evidence of any criminal acts for reporting to the Police.
The cameras will be worn by a limited number of colleagues, including Duty Managers and Duty Leads. They will be used specifically for capturing footage of emerging or ongoing incidents involving visitor confrontation, such as aggressive, disruptive, offensive of threatening behaviour. Cameras will only be switched on for a limited time. For example, by the wearer on approach to an emergency call involving a visitor, or during an interaction with a visitor, when the interaction shows signs of confrontation. Cameras will be switched off again immediately after an incident has concluded or when it is apparent there is no cause for concern. Body worn cameras will not be used as a management tool to record colleague performance. Any footage taken will be uploaded as soon as possible to a secure folder and kept for as short a time as possible.
If you have any queries or concerns regards the use of Body Worn Cameras, please contact Jon White [email protected] or Nick Sellers [email protected]
We are committed to supporting a healthy working environment and continuously strive to enhance the quality of working lives for everyone involved. Under the banner of ‘Health and Wellbeing,’ we are pleased to confirm that the Museum will again be offering prepaid flu jab vouchers, redeemable at Boots outlets, to all our colleagues.
How to Obtain Your Prepaid Flu Jab Voucher
To make it easy for you to access your prepaid flu jab voucher, please contact us at [email protected]. In your email, let us know your preferred method of receiving the voucher code (please note vouchers can be received by email or text message). Our team will promptly send you the voucher code to the provided email address or phone number.
To redeem your prepaid flu jab you can book online at your nearest available Boots outlet; Book Flu Jab Online
Please note: Flu vouchers are valid until 30 November 2025, you will not be able to use the voucher after this time and we will not be able to re-issue the voucher.
Thank you to everyone who joined our September ‘All Colleague Briefings’. You can now read through the Q&A from those sessions here: Briefings Sep 2025 Q&As
We’re excited to announce the appointment of Professor Martin Levermore as new Chair, following an extensive search. Professor Levermore will take up the role in October 2025, chairing a Board of Trustees of 15 with ultimate responsibility for the award-winning Museum’s operation, performance and development.
Duncan Bedhall, Acting Chair since April 2025, said, “Martin greatly impressed the selection panel with his strategic clarity, vision, business experience and acumen, understanding of the Black Country and the role and contribution of the Museum to a better society. All that, much more and Martin’s humility made him the standout choice. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Dr Paul Belford, Chair from 2020 and a Trustee since 2016, for his highly effective leadership. And as I return to the backbenches so to speak, I want to thank my fellow Trustees and Andrew for all their support and encouragement during my interim leadership of the Board.”
Professor Levermore said, “I feel honoured, delighted and excited in equal measure to be appointed as the Museum’s new Chair. As a West Midlander and living in Bloxwich – deep in the Black Country – I have admired the Museum for a long time. I am so looking forward to working with my fellow Trustees on the Board and Andrew’s team to ensure the Museum continues to thrive. The Museum is an essential part of the connected tissue of our region, and I want to ensure it makes an even greater contribution to the innovation and national understanding of the Black Country, its future economic growth and prosperity, wellbeing and positive social mobility.”
Andrew Lovett OBE, Chief Executive, said “What a pleasure it is to welcome Martin to the Museum; the seventh long-term chair since the charitable trust was established 50 years ago in 1975. I know Martin shares my belief that the Museum is a force for good in the service of the Black Country community and has so much more to give. I’m especially enthusiastic to draw-on Martin’s strategic thinking, regional reputation and deep humanitarian skills. I also want to add my heartfelt thanks to Dr Paul Belford and Duncan Bedhall for their support and leadership.”
